Bus aggregator start-up Shuttl takes next step in enhancing women safety

The start-up has introduced ‘Shuttl SAFE’, deploying various tech-based safety measures to provide better safety, especially for women commuters in Delhi-NCR.

Launched in April 2015, the start-up funded by Sequoia Capital, Times Internet and Lightspeed Ventures has been shuttling close to 20,000 daily commuters in the national capital region, with over 500 buses plying in the area.

The mobile app-based service has now been given another shot of technology with the new Secure Anxiety Free Experience (SAFE) elements, equipping its services with multiple safety checkpoints during the various points of a bus journey.

Shuttl’s in-house technology team has embedded these safety features into the app, as well as into the hardware on the buses, so as to ensure better rider safety, focusing especially on the female users of its service.

Giving an insight into the technological advancements of the application, Deepanshu Malviya, co-founder, Shuttl, said, “At Shuttl we always believe in the power of technology and data to transform how an Indian commutes daily and Shuttl SAFE is a perfect showcase for this belief. Our traditional understanding of data as text and numbers has gone through a paradigm shift with the advent of machine learning & Internet of Things (IoT). By using image and sensor data we are now taking a big leap forward in deriving intelligence, thereby delivering a very safe experience for our customers.”

The various check point stages include safety checks before boarding of a bus by a Shuttl user, ensuring safety during the journey and finally even once the ride gets culminated.

The pre-ride safety checks include a face-detection based check-in, which ensures that only an authorised driver with all identity details known to the commuter is behind the wheel and likewise, a user with a Shuttl validated verified background run, to be coming forward for the journey.

The pre-check also includes an alcohol detector, which is integrated to the ignition system of the bus and would not allow the bus to start in case the driver is found drunk.

The on-duty safety measures include CCTV recording of the complete journey, as well as the placement of a physical Panic Alarm button in the bus, and a virtual SOS alert option in the mobile application. This will allow the commuter to trigger a call-to-action alarm to Shuttl’s back-end support.

The final safety call, called ‘Homecheck’, comes into picture once the journey has been completed and the Shuttl support team reaches out to get a status update from the female commuter to know if they have reached their destination safely.

Launching the Shuttl SAFE feature, Amit Singh,co-founder, Shuttl, said, “one of the primary reasons for women not taking up jobs in Delhi NCR is the absence of a reliable and safe commute solution. With Shuttl SAFE we are attempting to safeguard against each aspect of commute pertaining to safety and solve it by leveraging technology. This project is specifically created keeping in mind the safety of the urban working woman that empowers them to be fearless while travelling to work. We have always committed ourselves to safety and reliability and will keep working towards getting better at it.”